The non-grain constituents harvested by a combine harvester during the harvesting operation are often spread directly on the harvested soil, for example, to improve the quality of the soil. In so doing, it is a focus that the spread crop decomposes readily so that its nutrient components are available in the subsequent vegetation phase. An optimal decomposition is achieved when the crop spread on the ground is in suitably short pieces and is distributed homogenously across the working width of the combine harvester.
One example is disclosed in EP 0 685 151, which illustrates a system in which the wind conditions in the region of the crop spreading device of the combine harvester are determined and the discharge behavior of the spreading device is regulated according to the wind conditions.
Another example is EP 1 790 207, which discloses a system in which the spreading of the crop flow exiting the combine harvester in the rear region thereof is regulated depending on the location of the crop edge.
Still another example is EP 1 514 466, which discloses a combine harvester having a chopper and spreading unit and an infrared camera in its rear region. The infrared camera, with the help of the detected temperature distribution, senses the quality of the distribution of the broken straw-chaff mixture deposited on the ground, wherein higher temperatures are an indicator of a greater crop volume. Based on the determined temperature change, kinematic parameters of the crop shredding and spreading device are adjusted such that a substantially uniform temperature distribution over the spreading width ensues, which ultimately is an indicator of homogeneous crop spreading.
The driver assistance system in DE 10 2014 113 965 discloses spreading of the crop on the ground by having various spreading strategies be selectable depending on the detected crop and environmental parameters, in order to optimize crop spreading on the ground.